Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2/Commonwealth Carnage
The Commonwealth Carnage was an international competition featuring robots from the Commonwealth of Nations. It was featured during the penultimate episode of Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2 and was originally shown on BBC Choice on January 31, 2003, but the series was dropped by the BBC before it could be shown on BBC Two. It was first repeated on Dave on 15 January 2011. Format The competition featured eight robots, each representing their respective countries from the Commonwealth. The robots came from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Canada, Australia and South Africa. The eight robots were split into two four-way melees for the first round from which two would go through to the semi-finals. Two robots then went through to the final to decide the Commonwealth Carnage champion. Competing Robots Round 1 Bondi Titch (AUS) vs Corkscrew (SCO) vs Firestorm 4 (ENG) vs Weld-Dor 3 (NIR) Firestorm 4 went into this battle as the overwhelming favourites, and it was quick off the mark, immediately flipping Weld-Dor 3, although the Northern Irish machine comfortably self-righted, only to be overturned again. Firestorm 4 then attacked Bondi Titch, but Corkscrew got in the way of the attack. Meanwhile, after a long time inactive, Weld-Dor 3 tried to self-right, but found itself unable to. This was a result of an untelevised attack from CorkscrewPrivate correspondence between Anthony Murney and Phelim Lundy, which saw Corkscrew hit the wheel of Weld-Dor 3, twisting its frame and causing CO2 to vent out of the machine violently. Firestorm 4 pushed Weld-Dor 3 into the CPZ and pressed it against the arena wall with its flipper a few times, before eventually flipping it out of the arena completely. Bondi Titch hit the pit release, but was then attacked by Firestorm 4, who flipped it up against the arena wall, but Bondi Titch crashed down again. Corkscrew, meanwhile, very nearly pitted itself under no pressure, as Philippa Forrester suspected pre-battle, but veered away and crashed into an immobile Bondi Titch. A second impact from Corkscrew dislodged a panel from Bondi Titch. Firestorm 4 then took over the battering of Bondi Titch, pushing it into the CPZ, and then, after levering against the arena wall, left it to Mr. Psycho, who hammered it. Bondi Titch appeared to have a brief spell of mobility, but this was cut short by a charge from Firestorm 4, and the subsequent flip out of the arena. After cease was called, Corkscrew caused massive damage to the side of Matilda. Qualified: Corkscrew & Firestorm 4 Cerberus (CYP) vs Crushtacean (RSA) vs Panic Attack (WAL) vs Terror Turtle (CAN) Panic Attack met Cerberus head on, but the two spun away. Crushtacean then took over, and rammed Cerberus into the pit release. Panic Attack then attacked Terror Turtle with the forks, meanwhile Crushtacean managed an almighty charge to pit Cerberus. Panic Attack and Crushtacean then teamed up to bully Terror Turtle, pushing it into the CPZ, and Panic Attack lifting it up with its forks. Crushtacean then grabbed the wheel guards, and pushed Terror Turtle, before releasing it. Panic Attack then pushed Terror Turtle into Sir Killalot, who lifted it up and over, causing JJ Frizell to lift a sign in support of his robot. Responding to the banner, Crushtacean gripped the back of Sir Killalot, but caused no damage. Towards the end of the battle, Panic Attack reignited its famous rivalry with Shunt, lifting the house robot off its wheels. Sir Killalot appeared to break down towards the end of the fight, only able to move his jaws, and so could not inflict further punishment on the overturned Terror Turtle. Jonathan Pearce remarked that Sir Killalot's defeat of Terror Turtle, which could not self-right, was an illegal manoeuvre, so it was disregarded in the resulting Judges' decision. Regardless, they decided that Crushtacean and Panic Attack had done enough to make the next round. Qualified: Crushtacean & Panic Attack Round 2 Panic Attack (WAL) vs Firestorm 4 (ENG) The battle between the two old rivals began with Panic Attack dodging Firestorm, before it ran up on its forks, but Panic Attack was unable to capitalize on this. Firestorm then fought back, and pushed Panic Attack into the CPZ, almost flipping it onto its back in the process. Panic Attack was unable to regroup and come in on another attack as Firestorm mercilessly hounded it; however once again it ran up on the forks of Panic Attack, who again failed to capitalize. Firestorm pushed Panic Attack the length of the arena, and into Sergeant Bash's CPZ, but both robots escaped. Firestorm again tried to flip Panic Attack but failed to. Firestorm got stuck on an angle grinder temporarily, and Panic Attack took the initiative, momentarily taking the upper hand in the battle. Firestorm retaliated and pushed Panic Attack against the arena wall. Panic Attack's srimech was designed for protecting it from getting stuck on its back, so was useless on its side. First Refbot, then Mr. Psycho tried to free Panic Attack, but failed, so Panic Attack was counted out, and Firestorm pressed the pit release. Mr. Psycho picked up Panic Attack, and paraded it around the arena, whilst Firestorm took on Sergeant Bash and flipped it. Mr. Psycho left Panic Attack to attack Firestorm who had tried, and failed to get underneath. After hammering Firestorm, Psycho returned to Panic Attack, dumping it in the pit. As Mr. Psycho reversed, he landed himself on the wedge of Firestorm. Cease was called, but Firestorm continued anyway, managing to flip the gargantuan house robot. Post-battle, it took nearly a dozen people to re-right Mr. Psycho. Winner: Firestorm 4 Crushtacean (RSA) vs Corkscrew (SCO) Corkscrew spun up to full speed and attacked Crushtacean, which sent the South African machine spinning away, but did not cause major damage. Crushtacean quickly responded and stopped Corkscrew from spinning by pinning it against the arena wall, and grabbing the blades with its claws, fulfilling the pre-match prophecy that Corkscrew would 'fit perfectly' in the claws of Crushtacean. Corkscrew was dragged towards the pit release, but resisted and managed to delay the process of pressing the button, but could not stop the inevitable, causing the decorative corkscrew to fall off in the process. Crushtacean then managed to push Corkscrew into the pit, driving its own wheels over the pit as well. Growler nudged Crushtacean in completely, but Corkscrew was eliminated due to it being pitted first. Winner: Crushtacean Final Firestorm 4 (ENG) vs Crushtacean (RSA) Firestorm 4 started the battle with an onslaught on Crushtacean, attempting several times to flip Crushtacean. Dead Metal then attacked Crushtacean, who attacked the exposed wheels. Firestorm again got in underneath Crushtacean, and flipped Crushtacean over, and then onto its side, from where it could not self-right. Refbot then counted down the South African machine, and Firestorm was crowned Commonwealth Champion, their first trophy in four years of trying. Firestorm in celebration took on the House Robots as it had done before, pressuring Dead Metal, almost flipping it over. Sergeant Bash came in with its jaws, and crushed the shell of Firestorm. Refbot tried to separate the three machines. The fight ended with Firestorm balancing Dead Metal precariously on its flipper, with Sergeant Bash locked onto the back of Firestorm 4. Commonwealth Carnage Champion: Firestorm 4 Trivia *The winner of the All-Stars Championship was originally intended to automatically qualify for the Commonwealth Carnage, but Firestorm, the runner-up of the All-Stars, represented England instead, presumably because the winner, Razer, was already fighting in the European Championship. *This episode, as well as the European Championship, was originally intended to have 12 competitors Robot Wars Forum (Archived). **Representatives from Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Pakistan were supposed to feature in this episode too. *This episode featured the rekindling of two grudges, between Panic Attack and Firestorm, and Panic Attack and Shunt. Incidentally, this was the last time that Panic Attack would fight Firestorm one-on-one. *Also featured in this episode was the only occasion in UK Robot Wars where Mr. Psycho was flipped. *This episode featured the team that had travelled the furthest to get to Robot Wars, a distance of over 10,000 miles. *Graham Bone, captain of Firestorm, proposed to girlfriend Hazel Heslop after winning this competition. *Kevin Pritchard rejoined the Panic Attack team in this episode, after leaving to form the Evil Weevil team at the end of Series 2. *Philippa Forrester made constant mention of Corkscrew driving itself into the pit during Series 6 to mock the team. Despite this, the Commonwealth Carnage featured two other robots which drove into the pit during Series 6. Crushtacean and Firestorm have both pitted themselves, the latter driving itself into the pit three times in the history of Robot Wars, and the former pitting itself for the second time upon beating Corkscrew. *A mistake with the battle board showed Firestorm 4 with the United Kingdom flag, instead of an English flag. References Category:Robot Wars Extreme 2 Category:Episodes to contain an OotA Category:International Events